Sports have helped Nixyáawii’s Kirkie adjust to the new school

MISSION — High school can be a tough transition for any student. Moving three states away from where you grew up, and not knowing anyone, can make that first day a bit more frightening.

Nixyáawii Community School freshman Cryssa Kirkie, who moved from Crow Creek, South Dakota, to the Pendleton area in the fall, said she was apprehensive about leaving the only home she’d ever known, but playing sports has helped her ease into her new school.

“It was scary at first,” Kirkie admitted. “I got the hang of it. It’s easier with a small school. When you play sports, it’s 10 times easier. It only took a couple of weeks before I felt like I belonged.”

Kirkie, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, said she had visited family in the Pendleton area when she was younger, but hadn’t been back in some time.

“I didn’t really want to move,” Kirkie said. “My mom (Crystal Pond Kirkie) wanted to move back to her hometown and my dad (Austin Kirkie) agreed. He wanted us to explore new things.”

Kirkie, 15, has two younger sisters, Cadence, who is 10, and Cena, who is 8. They both are both involved in sports like their older sister.

Basketball has always been her main sport, and she adapted quickly to the Golden Eagles, where she is their top scorer and rebounder this season.

Nixyáawii’s first-year coach, Fred Grass and Kirkie were both newcomers to the program in November, but he said the transition for both was pretty smooth.

“I saw her athletic ability at the start,” Grass said. “She is easy to coach. I haven’t heard her say anything negative about anyone. She’s just out there having fun.”

The Golden Eagles, who compete in the highly competitive Ladd Division of the Old Oregon League with No. 4 Imbler and No. 8 Echo, are 2-4 in league play, and 7-13 overall, as of Feb. 2. 

“It’s more competitive and there are more teams to play,” Kirkie said of the Old Oregon League. “It’s nice playing against the other players. Some of them are really good.” 

Kirkie is also an outstanding student and hopes to get more involved in tribal culture and the teen programs offered.

“My parents always said be a student first and then an athlete,” she said.

It hasn’t taken long for Kirkie to adjust to Eastern Oregon, and she appreciates the mild winters.

“It’s way better here than in South Dakota,” she said. “I don’t miss the snow. I’m more of a summer girl.” 

Talent runs deep

It’s hard for Kirkie not to have success on the court. Her athletic lineage runs deep.

Crystal Pond went to Pendleton High School for two years and graduated from Nixyáawii. Over the course of two schools and four years, she played volleyball, basketball, ran cross country and ran track. 

Crystal earned first-team Big Sky-East basketball honors in 2006.

She was a Happy Canyon princess in 2006, following a long line of family members before her.

“She’s told me all kinds of stories,” Cryssa said.

Austin Kirkie, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribe in South Dakota, was a standout basketball player in high school, winning a state title in 2001, and a talented softball player in the men’s league in South Dakota. 

He ranks sixth all-time in South Dakota high school basketball for points scored at the state tournament with 112.

Austin also coached the Crow Creek High School boys and girls basketball teams.

Austin died Oct. 21, 2025, but his spirit continues through his daughter.

“I wasn’t going to play (basketball) this year, but something pushed me,” Cryssa said. “I just got the strength of family and friends and it made me happy. I know he’s watching me.”